In the note, Maria mentioned that the employee went above and beyond to help her find what she needed. It wasn’t an extraordinary act, but one in which three previous employees had failed. Maria had asked the other three (at separate times) where she could find an item, and each time, each of them was uncertain and made vague references to other parts of the store. They didn’t want to help. They didn’t care. This unfortunately has become what we expect from Walmart, and although Maria was disappointed, she was not surprised.
When Maria stopped at the customer service counter, she spoke to one more person, and this employee didn’t react as did the other three.
“Have a seat, I’ll be right back,” the man told her. “I’ll go find it and bring it to you.” And he did. Maria got the worker's name and promised that she would put in a good word for him.
The next day Maria went back to the store and gave the note to the store manager who read it on the spot. The woman turned away from the checkout counter where other customers were making their purchase and Maria noted that her eyes had begun to tear up.
“This makes me want to cry,” the manager told her. She acknowledged that the manager to whom Maria was referring in her note was an extraordinary individual.
“Good for you,” I told Maria. “You probably made someone’s day.” And as prone as we are to filing a complaint when a complaint is deserved, we need to compliment when a one is called for. My wife is good at doing that, and I’m proud of her for that.
It didn’t take that much for the employee to create a great customer experience for Maria and it didn’t take but a few minutes for Maria to acknowledge his good service. Hopefully the store manager will use this experience to make other employees care about what they are doing.